WHY AM I SO MISERABLE IF THESE ARE THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE: A Survival Guide for the Young Woman

by Andrea Boroff Eagan ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1976

Though no longer unique, Eagan's straight talk on birth control and abortion, VD and vaginal infections, rape, etc., is sensible and informative, and her short chapter on how to say no--if you don't feel ready for adult sex--could be reinforcing for girls who feel pressure from all sides to give in. What chiefly distinguishes this manual, though, is its vociferous feminist pitch--which many librarians and readers will welcome though we personally find it annoying, if not unintentionally insulting to women. Though acknowledging now and then that things are changing, Eagan writes as if we are all passive victims of a monolithic sexist culture in which little girls don't play with trucks, teenagers faddishly waste money on the makeup of the month (while waiting to be ""taken care of"" by the right man), housewives fall for the commercials on daytime serials, and--though lesbian relationships are mentioned only to say they're okay--going steady with a boy is based on considerations of peer prestige, etc. (the same motives Eagan attributes to mothers who don't want their daughters to stay out late). We suspect that Eagan's problem is not really lack of respect for women but underestimation of teenagers' intelligence; in any case, a more mature and thoughtful feminist framework would better suit her mature content.

Pub Date: April 15, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION